Hero For a Moment
by kitty-earsxx
Summary: They say life is short, but it's the longest thing anyone will ever experience.


**A short story for English that turned out to a be a very short fic. Please don't be mean thank. **

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><p>They say life is short, but it's the longest thing anyone will ever experience.<p>

I stood there facing his back. He had a bad posture and was unnaturally thin. His breathing was slow and loud. At least I think it was. It was difficult to hear over the throbbing of my heart in my ears. I don't know why I felt the need to do this. It was unusual of me to step out of my line and say anything, but I felt obligated to stop him from going any further. I gulped and took a small step forward. I called out to him, causing him to jolt and face me. His complexion looked anything but healthy and had long hair that hung over his sunken eyes, dark as the midnight sky. He was clearly younger than me, although his eyes seemed to say otherwise. It confused me why people think this was the solution to their troubles. Then again I don't know what it feels like to feel like to have such a heavy weight on my shoulders.

"What do you want?" he asked. He had a harsh voice. I opened my mouth to speak but no sound came out. He turned back around, looking across the dull town, up at the white, painted sky and then down to the far, concrete ground. I took a few more steps towards him and stopped a metre behind him for some distance.

"Why don't we talk about it?"

He faced me again. "What is there to talk about?" he pressed his lips together and narrowed his dark eyes.

"Just talk to me about anything," I suggested.

He scoffed before he said, "Are you serious?"

I shrugged and said, "Why not?" I sat next to him, far enough from the edge. The boy let out an exasperated sigh and his shoulders deflated. He also sat down with his legs as thin as sticks dangling over the corner. I urged him to speak to me.

He pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows before he said. "Do I really have to?" I nodded. Then he started explaining. He talked about the loss of his older sister, his half-sister and his issues with his dad. I was surprised he was able to talk about this so openly to someone he just met.

He started trembling as he spoke and wrapped his arms around himself. I'm not the best comforter and I'm pretty awkward around new people. I often say stuff that come out in the wrong way. As he spoke I kept inching away from the destroyed and bumpy ridge. Once he finished speaking, he took a big sigh and rubbed his eyes with the back of his veiny hand and sniffled. "That's it. That's all you need to hear about my life."

"Your half-sister seems like a nice person," I didn't know where I was going with this. I was improvising, but also wary of my words.

"She is," he smiled a bit. "Hazel's like a mother to me."

"I bet she wouldn't want to lose another sibling," I said. He turned his head away and leaved on this arms that were wrapped tight around his legs. "Look, I know what it's like to lose someone and it's one of the worst things anyone could ever experience. It will impact Hazel's life so much."

He mumbled something I didn't catch before facing me. "Give me another reason."

That took me by surprise. I then said, "I assume you're younger than me by only a few years."

"Fourteen."

My eyebrows raised and I frowned. "_Fourteen_ and you've already chosen this path?"

"Yeah, so? It's my choice," He snapped. "Is that your reason?"

"You have much more to live for. My sister once said to me, 'Life is a gun."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"At first I didn't know. But then I realised that you either control it or it will control you. I think that you should control that gun." I let him think about that for a few minutes before I stood up and held out my hand. The boy looked at it confused. "Why don't we go hang out for a bit? Maybe at a café?"

"I'd like that," he took my hand and I pulled him up.

As we both walked towards the door I asked him, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Nico."

"I'm Jason."

"You're gonna pay for my coffee, right?"

"Yeah, this time I will."

"This time? You say that like we're going to meet again," Nico raised a brow.

"You never know," I grinned. I glanced at him to see that a small smile crept upon his pale face.

They say the best feeling in the world is falling in love, skydiving, or actually feeling refreshed when you wake up in the morning. But I think saving a person's life is mine.


End file.
